Native Communities Working Group
Supporting Native communities across Arizona as they explore electric transportation, charging infrastructure, fleet electrification, education, funding opportunities, and locally driven solutions.
Our role is to listen, collaborate, connect resources, and support solutions shaped by the priorities of each Native community.
Expanding Access to Electric Transportation
Arizona's Native communities can face very different transportation and infrastructure challenges than urban communities. Long travel distances, limited public charging, electrical infrastructure constraints, vehicle availability, funding, and access to reliable information can all influence how and when electric transportation makes sense.
The Native Communities Working Group brings together Tribal leaders, community members, utilities, transportation professionals, nonprofits, businesses, and other partners to help identify those challenges and connect communities with practical resources and opportunities.
Rather than approaching communities with a one-size-fits-all solution, DRIVE Electric Arizona works to support strategies that reflect local needs, priorities, geography, culture, and community goals.
Connecting Communities With Resources and Opportunity
The Working Group helps build relationships and create pathways for Native communities interested in transportation electrification.
Charging Infrastructure
Help communities explore workplace, public, fleet, destination, and corridor charging needs while connecting stakeholders with technical resources and infrastructure partners.
EV Education & Experience
Create opportunities for residents, employees, and Tribal leaders to experience electric vehicles firsthand through demonstrations, Ride & Drives, workshops, and community events.
Tribal & Community Engagement
Work directly with Tribal governments, departments, enterprises, community organizations, and residents to understand local priorities and identify useful resources.
Fleet Electrification
Support conversations around light-duty vehicles, transit, service vehicles, school transportation, and other fleet applications where electric vehicles may provide operational benefits.
Funding & Technical Resources
Help identify relevant programs, incentives, grants, utility resources, and organizations that can assist communities evaluating transportation and charging projects.
Partnership Building
Bring together utilities, nonprofits, agencies, businesses, charging providers, EV owners, and other stakeholders that can support community-led projects.
Different Communities. Different Needs.
Transportation electrification can create new opportunities, but successful projects must take into account the realities of each community.
Long Travel Distances
Rural and remote communities may depend on regional travel corridors where charging availability and vehicle range are especially important.
Infrastructure Availability
Electrical capacity, charger location, reliability, and installation costs can vary significantly from one community to another.
Economic Opportunity
Charging infrastructure and electric transportation can support tourism, Tribal enterprises, workforce development, and locally driven economic development.
Energy Resilience
Transportation electrification can increasingly intersect with solar, battery storage, microgrids, and other community energy strategies.
How the Working Group Supports Communities
We help communities move from curiosity to conversation, and from conversation toward projects when and where they make sense.
Listen First
Every engagement begins by understanding the goals, challenges, and priorities identified by the community itself.
Share Practical Information
We provide approachable, technology-neutral education about vehicles, charging, costs, operations, and real-world EV ownership.
Connect the Right Partners
DRIVE Electric Arizona can help connect communities with utilities, technical experts, funding resources, dealerships, manufacturers, charging providers, and other organizations.
Support Community-Led Projects
The Working Group can support planning, outreach, educational events, Ride & Drives, stakeholder discussions, and other initiatives developed around local priorities.
Respect. Partnership. Local Leadership.
Successful transportation programs are built through relationships. DRIVE Electric Arizona approaches Native community engagement as a collaborative effort rather than a prescribed program.
Community Driven
Priorities should be defined by the communities and organizations that will ultimately use and maintain these resources.
Technology Neutral
Our goal is education and informed decision-making, not promoting any particular manufacturer, vehicle, charger, or vendor.
Long-Term Relationships
We seek lasting partnerships that continue beyond a single event, grant opportunity, or infrastructure project.
Explore Our Native Nations Chapter
The Native Communities Working Group supports statewide engagement and collaboration. Our Native Nations chapter provides another way for residents and community members to participate directly in DRIVE Electric Arizona activities, education, and EV events.
Hans Klose
Hans Klose leads DRIVE Electric Arizona's Native Communities Working Group, helping build relationships among Native communities and the organizations, businesses, utilities, and transportation stakeholders that can support community-driven electric transportation initiatives.
Interested in Bringing EV Resources to Your Community?
Whether you're a Tribal leader, community member, utility, transportation professional, nonprofit, business, or potential partner, we'd like to hear from you.